


How was a witch to say no?

by xxDustNight88



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M, Fluff and Smut, Library Sex, Lucid Dreaming, Marauders, Marauders Era (Harry Potter), Multiple Relationships, Time Travel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-01
Updated: 2019-04-01
Packaged: 2019-12-29 22:28:26
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,989
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18303107
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xxDustNight88/pseuds/xxDustNight88
Summary: Leisurely reading by the Black Lake, Hermione finds herself eye-to-eye with the Giant Squid. A splash and suddenly she finds herself back in time and juggling two very different suitors!





	How was a witch to say no?

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Bunnyhops](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bunnyhops/gifts).



> Hey there, lovelies! This story was written for the Hermione's Haven Bunny Bounce 2019! This year the theme was Time-Travel + Marauders! This was my first time writing a Marauders story such as this where they are at school. I hope I did it justice! I also hope that Bunnyhops enjoys the story that I've written for her prompt! Thanks for reading! Enjoy!
> 
> Beta love goes to GaeilgeRua and alpha love goes to SquarePeg72. Any other mistakes you find are my own. Much love, xxDustNight
> 
> Disclaimer: All non-original characters, plot points, and information belongs to J.K. Rowling. The story plot and dialogue belongs to me. I do not write for profit.
> 
> Prompt: Post War, eight year, Hermione at Hogwarts, sitting by Black Lake when the giant squid surfaces, making eye contact with her. She wakes up in a different time and a different House - judging by her scarf, but strangely, she's reading the same book.../and #HHBingo19 Square O5: Library

It was an exceptionally warm day for spring. More so than normal. NEWTs were literally just around the corner, but Hermione had no desire to sit inside the castle and study her day away. After spending last year on the run with Harry and Ron and the war… Hermione simply wanted to relax for one single day before it was time to face the end of her time at Hogwarts. For real this time.

That was why she was currently sitting at the edge of the Black Lake, a trashy romance novel in hand, and her bare toes occasionally dipping into the cool water. The lake was the only place she could get away from everyone. The book was a gift from Luna. However, she couldn't get into it. She was never much for love triangles, and this book was full of them. Rolling her eyes, she tossed the book to the side and focused on the flat surface of the lake.

In a minute she was planning on putting her shoes back on and returning to the castle. It would be lunchtime soon, and she was famished. Besides, her friends would probably come looking for her eventually, effectively ruining her alone time. They were good about not letting her be alone for too long. PTSD was a bitch. Anyway, enough of that… Hermione removed her toes from the water and slid back into her socks and shoes.

She was just about to grab her discarded book and head back to the castle when the still surface of the lake rippled. Hermione sat frozen as the Giant Squid broke the surface. He looked right at her and then literally squirted her in the face. She screamed before promptly losing consciousness. Satisfied with himself, the squid retreated back to the depths of the lake, leaving Hermione to fend for herself.

* * *

 

When Hermione woke up, she knew it was well past lunch. Sitting up, she rubbed at her head where it had banged against the ground. "Stupid squid," she grumbled, also realizing her hair was in a right state. Standing, she noticed her book was gone. "Luna will understand…" she muttered, brushing off the back of her skirt, so there were no grass stains.

Glancing around, she found it odd that Ginny and Luna hadn't actually come to find her. In fact, the temperature seemed entirely different than when she'd passed out after the squid had squirted her in the face. Now she really took in her surroundings. With a frown, she noticed that there was no evidence that the castle grounds had been part of a war barely a year prior.

"What the hell…"

"Oi!" someone shouted behind her.

Gasping, Hermione turned around to find a young Sirius Black striding in her direction. "Okay, I have to be dreaming."

"Granger?" Sirius asked as he came to a stop in front of her. "Where have you been? You were supposed to meet me for our study date." At the word 'date' he wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.

Taking a deep breath, Hermione realized that, somehow, she'd traveled back in time. Possibly. "Oh, hey, Sirius," she replied, trying to smile. "I sort of fell asleep sitting by the lake."

"Really?" he asked, smirking. Wrapping an arm around her shoulders, he began to practically drag her back toward the castle. "You must be freezing then. It may be spring, but it sure doesn't feel like it."

"It wasn't too bad," Hermione supplied as she allowed him to lead the way. In fact, she couldn't complain at how his warm body was making her feel much better. It must really be cold here compared to the day she'd previously lived.

"You've been spending far too much time in the dungeon with the snakes," Sirius said with a bit of disapproval sneaking into his voice.

"Have I?" Hermione couldn't help herself from asking. She truly had no idea what he was going on about right now.

"Come on, Granger," Sirius chided as he pulled her inside the warmth of the castle. "Malfoy has been having you tutor him in Arithmancy just so he could try and get into your knickers for ages now."

"What!?" Hermione squealed, drawing the attention of a few students passing by into the Great Hall for dinner. Clearing her throat, she stopped moving which forced Sirius to do so also. "I'm certain that is not the case."

She had no choice but to go along with this line of conversation. She was in a different time and clearly had a different type of friend too. Why else would she be 'tutoring' Lucius Malfoy?! He was not the type of wizard she would _ever_ consider dating.

Sirius laughed and then seemed to spot some of his friends. He waved them over and much to Hermione's dismay, they were joined by Remus and Peter. "Look who I found having a nap by the lake."

Remus frowned. "You're going to get sick. It's been raining all day, Hermione."

"Lucius was looking for you in the library," Peter supplied, not only making her skin crawl but confirming what Sirius had just told her.

"Thanks, Pettigrew," she managed to say without wanting to punch him in his rat-like face. "I'll be sure to find him and apologize later."

"Where's James?" Sirius said, snaking his arm around her waist and tugging her close.

"Probably shagging Evans in a dark corner somewhere," Remus muttered, his cheeks slightly pink.

Peter sniggered and shook his head. "He's in detention."

"Figures. It's the perfect time to get Lucius back for what he did last week." Sirius' grin took up most of his face, and it made Hermione's heart happy to see him like this.

In fact, it was kind of nice to see _all_ of the Marauders this carefree. Never again would they be this way. Taking a deep breath, Hermione decided she might as well play into this situation if only to see that playful look on his face continue. It had nothing to do with the schoolgirl crush she had on him once upon a time in another life.

"Leave Malfoy alone," she playfully chided, elbowing Sirius in the rib and removing herself from his hold. She crossed her arms and gave him a stern look.

"There's that inner spark. I swear you should have been a Gryffindor," Sirius joked, now leading the way into the Great Hall. "See ya later, Granger." He waved, and then he, Remus, and Peter headed toward the Gryffindor table.

It was only then that Hermione glanced down at what she was wearing. Instead of Gold and Crimson, she was wearing Navy and Bronze. "Ravenclaw," she mumbled. "I'm a bloody Ravenclaw." Sighing, she headed for the correct table and had a seat toward the end. She would eat and then try and sneak off to the library to research. She needed to figure out how to get back to the present.

* * *

 

"Granger," the slick voice of Lucius Malfoy came from behind her a couple hours later.

Hermione was currently tucked away in the library sifting through a number of tomes looking for a solution to her Time Traveling problem. Setting down her current read and biting back her initial disapproval of anyone with the last name Malfoy, Hermione swiveled around to face Lucius and felt her mouth pop open. Certainly this wasn't _Lucius_ Malfoy? He was far too handsome!

Shutting her mouth with a clack as her teeth hit one another, Hermione came to the startling realization that years and the war did Lucius a disservice. The wizard standing in front of her right now was ridiculously handsome. And, damn him, those grey eyes glittered as if he knew exactly what she was thinking. Clearing her throat, Hermione tried to compose herself and ignore the way his long, blond hair looked incredibly silky and made her want to run her fingers through it.

"Lucius," she said tentatively, gauging his reaction. After all, she knew what he was like in her time, and she'd apparently stood him up earlier. Who knew how he would react?

"Granger," he said again and then promptly sat down in the chair next to her own. "I missed you this afternoon."

"I'm sorry about that," she started to apologize, but he held up a hand.

"It's not a problem." He smirked and then eyed her lips before returning his gaze to her eyes. "I only wish it had been me to find your sleeping form by the lake. It may have brought back memories of that time last autumn when you let me worship that gorgeous body of yours in the moonlight."

This time when Hermione's mouth popped open, Lucius took the opportunity to kiss her. Fully. On the mouth. With tongue. Everything. It was more than a tad unexpected, but Hermione couldn't help the moan that worked its way up from the back of her throat at the sensation. That was apparently all Lucius needed, and he stood and tugged her to her feet too.

Never breaking the kiss, he guided her into the shelves where he promptly slid his hands under her skirt. In her head, Hermione knew this was definitely not what she needed to be doing, but something told her to just let it happen. Well, from what he'd just said it ihad/i happened previously… Who knew how many times?

Was she dating Lucius? Secretly? Sirius and the other Marauders seemed to know she was with him, but did that make it official? And what about Sirius? He was rather handsy with her also. Was she dating him? Was she dating anyone else? Unfortunately, as Lucius' hands traveled further up her thighs, she lost all thought process for the time being.

As his fingertips grazed the lace outline of her knickers, Lucius broke their kiss to pant against her neck. "What do you want, little otter?" he asked wantonly, and she felt her knickers dampen even further in anticipation of possibilities.

A thousand answers raced through Hermione's head, and really she only wanted to say one thing. So she did, "I want you." The words tumbled from her lips without much prompting, and then Lucius was kissing her again, and those nimble fingers were sliding her knickers to the side.

The next thing she knew, the head of his cock was sliding into her heated core, and she was trying not to die from ecstasy right on the spot. He hoisted her up easily in his arms, and she eagerly wrapped her legs around his waist. Then, right there in the bloody library, Hermione let Lucius rock her to oblivion before he came apart inside of her as well.

Before he left, Lucius made sure she didn't look as though they'd just had a glorious romp in the library. He also left her with a promise of more if she met him by the lake tomorrow afternoon during her free hour. How was a witch to say no?

* * *

 

That evening, long after everyone was asleep, Hermione crept out of her bed in the Ravenclaw tower and rifled through her trunk. She always kept a journal and knew that this strange past version of herself would do the same. Sure enough, she found the leatherbound journal tucked into an old Ravenclaw scarf. Inside she hoped to find answers.

Back inside her bed, she pulled the curtains and began to read backwards through time. What she found surprised her to no end. Apparently, she and Lucius were sleeping together regularly and keeping it mostly a secret. People knew they were together occasionally, but none knew they slept together. She assumed this was for obvious reasons. Him being a Death Eater and all that. As for Sirius, whatever was going on with him was fairly new.

Given who Lucius was prone to hanging out with, Hermione suspected she was probably trying to distance herself from him. However, by spending more and more time with Padfoot, she was making it fairly obvious which side she was going to be on come time for the war… Why was there always a line one needed to choose a side of? If she could get out of here then maybe she wouldn't have to worry about that…

Near dawn, after having not slept a wink, Hermione dressed and ventured down to the Great Hall to have an early breakfast. She wanted to get into the library as soon as it opened. She didn't expect to find Sirius waiting for her at the bottom of the staircase. She faltered and then continued moving forward as if nothing was amiss.

"Good morning, Sirius," she said pleasantly.

He playfully punched her in the shoulder. "Mornin' Granger," he replied, that youthful smirk plastered to his face. His hair was freshly washed, the shoulders of his grey sweater appearing slightly damp. "Want to have a walk before breakfast?"

"Ummm," Hermione said with uncertainty as she tucked a curl behind one ear. "I was going to grab breakfast and-"

"Go to the library," Sirius finished for her, his eyes twinkling with mischief. "Come on, Granger, the library will be there later. Come have a walk with me by the lake." Then he gave her his most pitiful, sad face and Hermione felt her heart melt.

Taking a deep breath, she figured there was no reason to say no at this point. "Alright. Sure," she agreed and then took the hand he offered to her. "But just a quick one." With those puppy dog eyes, how was a witch to say no?

Ten minutes later, Sirius and Hermione were halfway around the lake. For the most part, the conversation was light and didn't involve much input about their lives in this time period. That worked in Hermione's favor as she really had no idea what was going on aside from what she read in her journal last night. Sirius paused at the far end and turned to Hermione.

"So when are you going to officially break things off with Malfoy?" Sirius asked bluntly, causing Hermione to choke on air.

"I'm sorry?" she asked, coughing. "What did you just ask?"

"I know you're still seeing him as more than a tutor," Sirius told her with a frown. His eyes looked sad too, and that made Hermione feel really bad about what happened in the library last night.

"I didn't know you, and I were serious," she said honestly because it was the truth. Accordingly to the journal, they snogged and did a few other things that made Hermione's cheeks glow red, but they were not a formal couple who had sex.

"We're not… Yet," Sirius said slowly, running his hand through his messy hair. "I'd hoped we could be, though. Only, you keep sneaking off to shag Lucius in the library, so I don't know."

Blushing brightly, Hermione realized that maybe people were more aware of her relationship with Lucius than she originally thought. Truthfully, she had no intention of being with either wizard at this point. She just wanted to go home and take her NEWTs. Time Traveling was nowhere near as fun as people made it out to be...

"I am so sorry," she began but trailed off. Clearing her throat, she tried again. "My head is all over the place at the moment and I guess so is my heart."

"Here," Sirius said handing her a book. "I found this in the grass yesterday and figured it belonged to you. I hope you don't start acting like the girl in the story."

Glancing at the book, Hermione discovered it was the one Luna had let her borrow. "Oh…" she whispered to herself as she remembered the plot. Regret made her heart ache, and she reached out to take Sirius' hand. "I'm so sorry, Sirius. I was wrong to lead both you and Lucius on like this. Please forgive me?"

"I can forgive you, I think," Sirius said with a grin. He nudged her playfully. "If you go with me to next week's Hogsmeade trip."

Hermione laughed, thankful to see his regular, playful self had returned. "Can you give me a little bit of time to end things with Lucius once and for all, and then to figure out my own feelings?" She'd added the last bit hoping that she would be able to find a way back to her time before it came to that. She didn't want to stick around for the start of the war.

"I guess I can accept that," Sirius said and then nudged her again. This time, Hermione slipped on the slick grass and went toppling backwards into the Black Lake. The last thing she saw before going unconscious again was Sirius jumping in after her.

* * *

 

Gasping, Hermione woke up on the bank of the Black Lake once more. Only, this time, she was soaked to the bone and clearly back in her own time period. In front of her sat the book she'd carelessly discarded. Rolling onto her back and staring up into the clear, blue sky, Hermione vowed she was never going to read another trashy romance novel.

Sordid dreams of a time long passed was not the way to live one's life. As she sat up and looked at the book once more, she did wonder how the story ended. Did the girl wind up with the hunky wizard with the nimble hands or the apparently lovesick one who only wanted to make her an honest witch?

Biting her lip, Hermione found herself reaching for the book and opening to where she left off earlier. The sun would dry her clothes and hair as she continued to read by the Black Lake and her friends could wait on her all day. It couldn't hurt to indulge in fantasies for a little bit longer, could it? When there was a good story at stake, how was a witch to say no?

**Author's Note:**

> For updates and information about my other works and projects, check me out on...  
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